Landscape Designer

Beautify spaces by planting greenery and erecting garden structures.

What does a Landscape Designer do?

Landscape designers plan and wrestle nature to achieve a specific look that follows a client’s preferences. Like the job of an architect who builds houses, your job is all about planning. You plan where trees, walkways, and water should go, as well as what type of plants should be planted. You make your decisions as a landscape designer based on factors like where sunlight hits the yard, what type of soil you’re working with, what plants are native to the area, and of course, what your client wants.

This job is collaborative, so you need good communication skills. It starts when you first talk with your client. You need to clearly understand what they’re looking for, and then draw up a plan that clearly explains what you want to do.

Once you’re both in agreement, you pass your plans along to construction workers, other architects, and surveyors. These are the people who put your vision into action and create the finished product.

You don’t just design backyards, though. You can work on sports fields, college campuses, parks–pretty much any open space where people want greenery that looks good. And when you’re not creating models or designs, you take care of other tasks like analyzing and drawing up budgets, researching different materials and soil types, and working computer-assisted design (CAD) software to help design your landscape masterpieces.